Netanyahu calls on UN to condemn Iran, Palestinian terrorism

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the United Nations to "condemn Iranian subversion and Palestinian terrorism against innocent civilians and to refrain from its baseless criticism of Israel," in a meeting with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

The prime minister has held several high-level meetings during his trip to New York, including a meeting earlier on Wednesday with US President Joe Biden and a meeting with Turkish President Recep Erdogan. This was his first meeting with both world leaders since resuming the premiership in December of last year. 

Netanyahu requested that Guterres help change the attitude of UN institutions towards the State of Israel, saying that "it was untenable that while major changes for the better were taking place in the world and the Middle East, the UN was unaffected and remained steadfast in its hostility to Israel."

At the same time, Netanyahu expressed hope that international efforts led by the US for normalization with Saudi Arabia would bear fruit soon and expressed confidence that the initiative for an economic corridor between India, the Gulf states, and Israel to Europe would contribute to strengthening the global economy.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met today, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York City, with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.Prime Minister Netanyahu emphasized the role of Iran in undermining stability in the Middle East and the entire world. pic.twitter.com/ig3WGVXDoD

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) September 20, 2023

Accusations of bias against the UN

The United Nations and its attached organizations have been accused of holding bias against the state of Israel on numerous occasions by a number of parties. One of the reasons for this is that the UN Human Rights Council has a standing agenda item against only Israel. 

Multiple Jewish organizations have condemned the UN Human Rights Council Commission of Inquiry report on Israel.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) CEO Ted Deutch said in a statement, at the time of the 2022 report, that he rejects the report. “It is biased. It is one-sided. Other organizations and countries around the world should reject it,” he said.

“There’s no mention of Hamas,” Deutch added. “There’s no mention of terrorism. There’s no mention of the thousands of rockets that rained down on Israel with the sole intention of killing as many civilians as possible, and that there’s a failure to acknowledge that every country, including Israel, has a right to defend itself. The members of this commission were biased. They expressed that bias right from the start. This commission is malicious. It is illegitimate. It should be disbanded."

Additionally, the UNRWA has reportedly spread hate through their schools by providing teachers and material that promotes fundamentalist content, the Jerusalem Post reported earlier this year.